274 REPORT OF THE No. 3 



iug the rest of the year, extending from October to May, the ground is 

 covered with snow, or the moisture in the Lush is such as to render any 

 extensive fire impossible. 



I would, therefore, suggest that during the dangerous period of each 

 year, a certain number of men, to be called Fire Rangers, shall be stationed 

 at points in the licensed and unlicensed lands of the Province, where from 

 settlement, railway construction, lumbering or any other cause, fire is so 

 frequently used as to be a source of danger. 



There is great difficulty in arriving at an accurate estimate of the num- 

 ber of men required to protect a section of country, let alone the whole Pro- 

 vince, as some limits, owing to the nature of the bush, prevalence of lakes, 

 streams and swamps, sparse settlements, etc., will not require as close 

 supervision as others, therefore it would be well nigh impossible for me 

 here to state the number of men which would be adequate to make the ser- 

 vice effective. When we come to place the men, the licensees — who are 

 quite familiar with the topography, etc., of their limits — will be able to 

 give us a fairly correct idea of how many men will be necessary on each 

 limit; thus we will be able to deal satisfactorily with the licensed area — 

 leaving the unlicensed, unsettled, and consequently less exposed parts of 

 the Province to be dealt with by the Department as necessity may arise. 

 I would therefore recommend that each licensee should be notified that 

 these men would be appointed, and invited to state how many men would 

 be required to properly guard his limits, the Department having the right, 

 after consultation with ;the license-holder affected, either to decrease or 

 increase the number suggested, should it be thought expedient to do so. 



The next point, and a most important one, is the selection of the men, 

 as unless we get active, energetic men, of cool temper and good judgment, 

 we shall not make the scheme a success; but in addition to the possession 

 of the above qualities, they must have a thorough bush training, and be 

 quite familiar with the limit on which they are stationed. Such men will 

 know the various settlers upon a limit, their residences, habits — whether 

 careless or the reverse — the parts of the limits which are most exposed or 

 inflammable and need the closest watching, and above all, they will have 

 practical ideas as to the proper steps to take in order to control or suppress 

 a bush fire. Bearing all this in mind, and the necessity of having some 

 further and more direct supervision over the men — scattered over an 

 immense area as they will be — than could be exercised by the Department, 

 1 think the selection of them should also be left with the various licensees, 

 as they will most certainly know the men best qualified to fulfill the duties 

 of the position, the Department, of course, reserving the right to reject or 

 remove any man considered unfit for the position, either from incapacity or 

 through harassing of settlers, for where settlement and lumbering are 

 going hand in hand, as they must do in this Province, it is of the utmost 

 importance that no friction should arise between the settler and licensee, as 

 should ill blood between the two classes be created, the whole system would 

 prove unsuccessful, nor could any be devised which would preserve the forest 

 if settlers were moved by malice to destroy it. The whole system presumes 

 a good understanding between settler and licensee, and as I know that lum- 

 bermen now fully appreciate the folly and danger of quarrelling with 

 settlers, I see no objection to allowing them to select the men, and what is of 

 great importance is this, that these men feeling they owe their appoint- 

 ments to the licensee, and being under his supervision, there is every rea- 

 son to believe that they will be more watchful and diligent than if they 

 were only supervised by and responsible to the Department of Crown Lands. 



